


Peace Talks

by onewholeperson



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Alternate History, Alternate Universe - No Baby Realms, Alternate Universe - No Valla, Corrin and Azura don't exist, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Some politics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-07
Updated: 2018-08-07
Packaged: 2019-06-22 16:45:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15586284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onewholeperson/pseuds/onewholeperson
Summary: King Xander has been working towards restoring Nohr since Garon's death 20 years ago. Newly King, Ryoma decides to hold a conference between the families to finally sort out differences and try to achieve peace. Thus begins Siegbert and Shiro's first political meeting since coming of age as crown princes for their respective nations. Shenanigans ensue.





	1. Dusk to Dawn

**Author's Note:**

> There's a lot of alternate history that I have to cook up, but basically I just wanted to see how the kids would be without the game mechanic nonsense. Full list of parent pairings and kids' ages in the end notes.

The trip from Windmire to the Bottomless Canyon had been characteristically strenuous, the terrain growing more difficult with each passing day. Siegbert let his head fall onto the carriage wall behind him as he closed his book. The words were jumping all over the page with the movement of the cart rendering reading nearly impossible and comprehending the meanings even more so. He was thankful they would be arriving at the pass and meeting their Hoshidan escorts soon as the thought of spending another day idle for traveling gnawed at him uncomfortably. 

Soleil looked at Siegbert from where she was slouched next to him. She sat up excitedly, her pink hair bouncing with her. 

“Finally done with your nerd stuff, Lord Siegbert?” 

“Ah Soleil, I suppose I am for now. Although I’m not sure if I would call studying Hoshidan law in preparation for the peace talks ‘nerd stuff’. These talks could define the future of both nations.” Siegbert pressed his lips together. “And again, you really don’t need to call me Lord, you’re not officially my retainer yet and even when you are we’ve known each other all our lives, there’s no need for formalities between us.”

“Okay, first of all, reading about law in any context is nerd stuff. Secondly, I’m practising being formal for these talks specifically! We need to show these Hoshidans that our crown prince and his favourite retainer are nothing to be messed with.” Soleil flexed her arm and winked. 

Before Siegbert could point out that she is his only retainer their carriage came to a stop. Soon after the door on the back was opened by a hulking figure. 

“We’ve reached the rendezvous point, now we wait for the Hoshidans.” Benny’s gruff voice came as a distinct relief for Siegbert who immediately perked at getting to stretch his legs and hopefully do some sword training before they had to move out again. 

Soleil insisted on jumping out of the cart first, so she could help Siegbert out. Before rising, Siegbert tried to wake the sleeping Dwyer on the bench across from his. When it seemed that wasn’t going anywhere he gratefully took Soleil’s hand and stepped out. The two of them thanked Benny before moving to gather with the rest of their traveling party. Ignatius and Sophie were already more or less settled, having ridden ahead of the carriages. It looked like Ignatius was helping flatten Sophie’s hair which stuck out in various directions, likely eaten by Avel again. Siegbert watched his cousins Forrest, Ophelia, and Nina step out of their carriage and start stretching out. A screech came from above as the youngest member of their party landed his wyvern next to the convoy. Before Siegbert could greet his companions a hand gently grabbed his shoulder. 

“Prince Siegbert, your father wishes to have a word with you.” Laslow’s voice was bright as always, though he looked as travel worn as the rest of them. 

“Awww dad we just stopped! Can’t we let Lord Siegbert at least hang out for a minute?” 

Laslow’s face softened at his daughter’s protest, but he remained unmoved. “Not this time Soleil, this is an order straight from the King after all.” 

“It’s quite alright Soleil, you can join the others.” Siegbert nodded his thanks to Laslow before heading towards his parents’ carriage. 

Worry began to bubble in Siegbert’s stomach as he opened the door. “Father, you requested me?” 

“Siegbert, yes, sit.” 

His father sat looking over a series of papers, a small pair of reading glasses perched on his nose. His hair was messier than he, or his wife, typically allowed it. The occasional streaks of gray in it contrasted against the imposing black crown he wore even now. Siegbert sat in the seat across his father’s, his back straight and hands resting in his lap as he tried not to fidget nervously. 

“As I’m sure you are more than well aware this will be your first major diplomatic meeting since coming of age, and it is with Hoshido no less. How you conduct yourself from here on out will define your rule.” His father’s gaze on him was stern but not uncaring. Siegbert’s attempts to hide his nervousness did not escape his father’s notice. “I look forward to what you are going to achieve, my son. Your efforts to prepare have not gone unnoticed. I’m proud of the prince you have become, and I assume this meeting will be no different. This may be your final chance to relax, please take it.” Siegbert forced a small smile at his father’s encouraging words, but he could not shake his anxiety. 

“Thank you, father, I will not disappoint you.” Xander smiled back at his son and waved him out. 

The afternoon progressed normally with everyone moving anxiously preparing for the upcoming meeting with Hoshido’s first representatives. Siegbert noticed some of the older retainers exchanging glances and cautiously preparing weapons. He swallowed nervously and started running through some basic sword training drills while he waited. Just as Percy started to beg him to join on a ride with Ace they saw a large caravan making its way from the Eastern side of the canyon. The carriages were large, adorned with red and white and carrying flags bearing Hoshido’s crest. Everyone in camp moved into a practised position. 

Siegbert stood at his father’s right-hand side, his mother beside him. To his father’s left was Prince Leo. Camilla’s and Elise’s daughters stood on either side of Forrest. The retainers stood just behind or near their lieges as they waited. 

The caravan stopped, the most ornate carriage lead by two pure white horses at the front. Siegbert watched wide-eyed as an imposing figure wearing bright red armor stepped out and towards him. He could hear some surprised movement coming from those around him before they were quieted. More people moved to open carriage doors revealing faces Siegbert did not recognize.

“King Xander of Nohr. I am King Ryoma of Hoshido, come to greet and escort you into my kingdom.” His voice carried the distance between the parties. 

“King Ryoma, what a pleasant surprise, I was not expecting you to personally greet us at the border.” Siegbert watched his father move to meet King Ryoma in the middle of their groups before offering a handshake. 

Siegbert could tell beyond their stoic faces they were trying to assert dominance. The handshake lasted for longer than he thought it would, both men sizing each other up with each pump. Just then someone stumbled out of the first carriage. 

“Ow ow! I get it, I’m going! Gods…” A young man, Siegbert assumed to be about his age was dragged out by the ear by a man in an eyepatch who vanished shortly after leaving this newcomer. “Dad what the he-” Upon seeing the gathered crowd this guy – Hoshido’s prince, based on his calling King Ryoma dad- stopped speaking and ran into position. 

King Ryoma looked mortified and dropped the handshake as the young man stepped to his right side. 

Siegbert could hear Forrest trying to stop Nina and Ophelia from laughing out loud. He simply stared. This is the crown prince of Hoshido?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro tries to make up for being an idiot by running head first into the other camp.

Camps had been set up as night started to approach. Both sides agreed to wait until morning before moving on to the official site of the peace talks. From the Hoshidan side a muffled voice could be heard from within the main carriage.    

 

“…and furthermore! We had _just_ discussed the proper etiquette when greeting the Nohrian royal family. Did you see how the princesses laughed when you came out? I can only imagine how they view us now. And the crown prince! The way he stared at you, no doubt unbelieving that you would act this way at the beginning of such a momentous occasion…”

 

Shiro allowed his dad to continue lecturing. This was nothing he hadn’t heard before and nothing he wouldn’t hear again by the end of these peace talks. So maybe he had forgotten to step out with his dad, it’s not his fault he’s been drilled with so many rules and procedures that one slipped his mind.

 

“…Are you even listening to me, Shiro?” His father stopped lecturing and stared at him, his nose flaring.

 

“Yeah dad I get it, I fucked up okay? I’m sorry you lost your hand shaking contest with the Nohrian king.” Shiro crossed his arms and leaned back.

 

Just as it looked like his dad was finally going to take out Raijinto and end his son, Kagero appeared and delivered a message. Ryoma took a breath gave Shiro one last angry look before dismissing him to discuss something with Kagero.

 

The moment Shiro stepped out of the carriage the activity outside stopped. He could feel everyone’s eyes on him as they tried to assess the damage. Asugi broke the silence first, popping the sucker out of his mouth and pointing it at Shiro.

 

“So, you finally been disowned or what?” Caeldori punched him lightly on the shoulder and gave him a withering glare. Asugi simply put the sucker back in his mouth and shrugged.

 

“I think what our _dear_ cousin means to say is, is everything alright?” If Shiro hadn’t felt bad while being lectured for an hour straight, the genuine concern on Caeldori’s face got him there. He suddenly became hyper aware that she would do a much better job of being the crown princess than he could ever do as crown prince. He tried to shrug away these thoughts as he proceeded.

 

“Don’t worry about it Dori, dad’s always like this. Plus, I have a plan.” Shiro did not have a plan, he just couldn’t stand to look at Caeldori and feel useless for much longer. Time to make something up! “I’m going to head over to the Nohrian camp and… Take some initiative, ya know? Get to know their prince and. Start, uh, building peace.” Fucking nailed it.

 

Caledori’s eyes lit up. “That’s a great idea! Why don’t we all go with you? This really could be a great opportunity since we have to wait here until next morning anyway.” The rest of the kids started talking excitedly.

 

So Shiro lead his troupe of teenagers across the small distance between camps. As they arrived he could see everyone tense up at their presence. After some time of everyone shuffling about anxiously he spotted the other prince. Shiro definitely knew his name at some point. Siegmund? Siegfried sounded almost right… regardless. Shiro stood up straight and dashed over to the prince.

 

“Hey! I’m Shiro, crown prince of Hoshido.” Shiro grinned and stuck his hand out to the other prince. The other prince startled like a bunny, moving his hand to where his sword lay before correcting himself.

 

“I am Prince Siegbert,” _That was it!_ _“_ crown prince of Nohr. It is an honour to meet you.” Siegbert took Shiro’s hand in his. Shiro shook the armored hand awkwardly, not entirely sure how long was the appropriate length of a handshake.

 

Siegbert released his grip first to Shiro’s relief. Now that he was up close Shiro could see that Siegbert was taller than he was by quite a bit. He also wore an expression of confusion, likely because Shiro had just run into his camp with a bunch of other strangers.

 

“Prince Siegbert, meet my cousins! Kiragi, Caeldori, and Asugi. Plus, we have Rhajat, Hisame, Mitama, and Midori!” Each person waved or bowed as their name was said. Siegbert nodded to each one as they were named, clearly overwhelmed by the number of names and faces he was trying to take in all at once.

 

“It is a pleasure to be introduced to all of you. I hope we can all get to know each other better over the course of these upcoming weeks. Come, please feel welcome in our camp.” Shiro felt somewhat daunted by the amount of decorum Siegbert was able to convey.         

 

“So Sieg, you any good with that sword? Why don’t the two of us have a sparring contest, manly bonding and what all.” Shiro may not be as eloquent as Siegbert, but he was confident he’d be able to impress him with combat.

 

“Oh I-, I suppose that should be alright. I have been somewhat out of practise as of late. Come, we should collect some practise weapons and step away from the main camps.” Shiro followed Siegbert where he lead into the camp to grab two training swords from a chest.

 

“Ah, actually I use a naginata, not swords.” Siegbert looked puzzled but returned the second training sword to its place. Shiro grabbed a blunted wood spear from a nearby barrel. He took a couple of practise swing with it, finding the balance to be decent “You guys are pretty well stocked for a bunch of travelling royals.”

 

“It is important even on the road to be able to refine one’s skills. It simply wouldn’t do for any of us to allow our skills to degrade.” Yeah, that seemed about right. Shiro started to feel more insecure with every sentence from Siegbert.

 

Siegbert continued and lead the group away from the camps along the edge of the ravine. Shiro looked at the gathering, his group having picked up a few more curious teens along the way. Some he recognized from the earlier debacle as Nohrian princesses. They were all talking amongst themselves and not yet talking to the Hoshidans, nor did his party make any moves to talk to the newcomers.

 

Shiro took up a stance across from Siegbert, holding the spear in front of himself. Siegbert followed suit, holding his sword in front with one hand and his other behind his back. Shiro made the first move, lunging in towards his opponent. Siegbert was lighter on his feet than Shiro expected and he dodged easily way from the first strike. Siegbert took this opportunity to strike at Shiro’s side, which was blocked with his spear, the wood made a satisfying crack at the contact. Shiro brought down the spear towards Siegbert’s head. Siegbert deflected the strike with his sword but was staggered by the impact.  

 

All the while the crowd had grown to include every teen from both camps, as well as drawing the occasional eye of some of the adults. With each parry and riposte the crowd oohed and awed. Shiro could hear the delighted calls of Kiragi as he attempted to sweep Siegbert off his feet. He then heard another shout of equal delight from a different young boy as Siegbert avoided it. The match continued this way for a while, both fighting harder as it went on. Shiro took a moment to look at the gathered Nohrians. A girl with braided twin tails was watching both men intently and jotting in a journal as another called out various elaborate names for the attacks being performed.

 

Siegbert took the opportunity to strike while Shiro was distracted. Shiro’s reflexes kicked in just in time blocking and swinging his spear, which stopped between Siegbert’s neck and shoulder. Siegbert huffed a breath and smiled as he observed their situation. Shiro noticed then how hard he was breathing and the sweat that had started to roll down his face. Siegbert withdrew from their stance.

 

“Hah! Well fought, but not well enough this time.” Some of the crowd booed at this conclusion. The other half cheered. “Y’know, you’re tougher than you look Sieg.”

 

“I? Thank you? You fought well, Prince Shiro.” Siegbert held out his hand, which Shiro took. “Ah, while you are all gathered here, allow me to introduce you to my companions” Siegbert dropped Shiro’s hand as he turned to their onlookers. Shiro looked at his hand for a moment before introductions were made.

 

“This is Prince Forrest, son of Prince Leo” Shiro watched with some surprise as Forrest curtsied. Huh, would’ve thought that was another princess. Maybe that’s common in Nohr? “Princess Nina,” Shiro waved to her and she promptly hid her notebook and looked away. Alllright? “and Princess Ophelia. Then there’s Soleil, Percy, Ignatius, Sophie, and oh- well. I think Dwyer has already left to go nap somewhere.” Shiro looked at each person as they were introduced and promptly forgot all their names.  

 

Everyone took turns introducing themselves to the rest of the group, quickly creating a loud mass of teens. Eventually people grouped up and went out to do their own things. The littlest Nohrian offered to take Midori for a ride on his wyvern to go look for herbs, Asugi joined them to see if he could find something for baking. Mitama looked like she was fighting with someone he didn’t recognize over a napping spot. Slowly the others peeled off as well until it was just Siegbert and himself standing near the edge.

 

The two stood in silence for a bit before Shiro broke it. “How deep do ya figure this canyon actually is? It can’t really be bottomless…” Shiro leaned over the edge to see the bottom, but since the sun had already set there was no chance.

 

“I wonder… Hold on here I’m going to find something.” Before Shiro could respond, Siegbert had run back to the camp. He returned shortly after with a lit torch.

 

“I don’t think that will give off enough light to see the bottom, bro.” Shiro looked at the torch quizzically, he figured Siegbert would be smart enough to know that.

 

“Oh, I don’t intend to shine it down from here.” With that, Siegbert smiled and tossed the torch into the canyon. Shiro kneeled over the edge as it fell, Siegbert following his action. And the torch kept falling. After what felt like forever the torch stopped, just a pinprick of light still visible.

 

“Let’s see, that was about 35 seconds… if we assume the speed increases by…” Shiro watched as Siegbert closed his eyes and scrunched his eyebrows. _It was kind of cute?_ “My best guess is the canyon is about 6 kilometers deep in this area. Of course, my math could very well be off…”

 

Shiro’s eyebrows shot up. “You did that all in your head? No way, dude!” He pushed gently on the other’s shoulder. Shiro would never have thought to do something like that. Mostly because he didn’t know which numbers he would even need to use…

 

“Thank you. I suppose I was showing off a little bit since I lost our sparring match.” Siegbert’s smile faltered a bit.

 

“I mean it wasn’t really a fair match anyway, since I was using a spear and all.” Shiro laid back onto the rock. He rested his head in his hands, his feet hanging over the edge a bit. “You know, I chose the spear specifically to beat sword users.”

 

Siegbert laughed a little and looked down at Shiro questioningly. “Really? Shouldn’t you wish to train with the sword and inherit your father’s divine weapon?”   

 

“Nah, I’m not really sure how I feel about inheriting anything from the old man.” _What’s with all this honesty? I just met this dude._ Shiro patted the space on the ground next to him, inviting Siegbert to lay down next to him.  

 

“I see. I admit, I have my own share of worries regarding succeeding my father. I worry about trying to uphold his legacy.” Siegbert stayed in place but adjusted himself to be sitting rather than kneeling. His back was straight upright with his lands in his lap. He looked up at the sky. The two stayed that way for a bit, watching the stars quietly.

 

_Even when he’s relaxing he looks stiff._ Shiro noted how Siegbert twitched as he looked up at the sky with worry, as if the sky was looking back at him judgementally. Shiro realised after while that he was more interested in looking at Siegbert than at the sky.

 

“I believe you should head back to your camp, Prince Shiro. Tomorrow is another day of travel before we officially begin negotiations.” Shiro’s face showed his disappointment as Siegbert continued, “The sky has also clouded over, it’s best we get to cover before it rains.”  

 

“Huh, I didn’t even realise.” Shiro looked up and sure enough, some ominous looking dark clouds had formed.

 

The two set off back to their respective camps, Shiro looked back to see Siegbert gathering up a pink haired girl who seemed set on walking Caeldori back to camp. He waved back at them before turning around. _These next few weeks may be fun after all._  

**Author's Note:**

> These aren't necessarily my favourite pairings, just the ones I thought made the most sense given the context of the story, kids are going to have their default hair colours for the most part.  
> NOHR  
> Xander/Charlotte > Siegbert (18)  
> Leo/Felicia > Forrest (16)  
> Odin/Elise > Ophelia (15)  
> Niles/Camilla > Nina (16)  
> \------  
> Laslow/Peri > Soleil (17)  
> Arthur/Effie > Percy (13)  
> Jakob/Beruka > Dwyer (16)  
> Silas/Selena > Sophie (16)  
> Benny/Nyx > Ignatius (17)
> 
> HOSHIDO  
> Ryoma/Kagero > Shiro (18)  
> Takumi/Oboro > Kiragi (14)  
> Subaki/Hinoka > Caeldori (17)  
> Saizo/Sakura > Asugi (17)  
> \------  
> Kaze/Rinkah > Midori (12)  
> Azama/Orochi > Mitama (15)  
> Hayato/Hana > Rhajat (17)  
> Hinata/Setsuna > Hisame (15)


End file.
